Day 30 - Kinda halfway there, eh?

So today is day 30, and if I am holding the puppies in my care for a minimum of 60 days, my job is half-done. It doesn't feel that way at all.

Yishai is torn about how to choose puppies. Yesterday we had them out in the evening for a very long time. I still think he'll end up landing with Optimus Prime, but I keep reminding him that whatever puppy you end up with is somewhat inconsequential - my three Aussies were picked arbitrarily. The first and last from a photo, and the middle upon popping out of mama dog. They all had weaknesses and strengths, but I never wondered if I should have chosen another dog.

Ah, so the power of "pick of the litter" goes, he says. It's not inconsequential - it's not like one dog is just the same as another, he spends hours with them every day.

So yesterday, as we are watching them bop around on the floor, chewing on each other, interacting with Fury, etc, he starts to "test them" by putting them on his chest and looking for sustained eye contact and licking. He likes a lovey puppy. Firma and Daca failed this test, but only really because they were more interested in play-fighting with each other than him. All of my puppies are very people aware and happy to hold a gaze. All of them can be enticed to lick you. I don't know if that test of his is going to work.

I am pretty happy with his selections, though. He seems to be going for the puppies I would, and for interesting reasons - beauty and serenity. There are three puppies in the litter that are frenetic: Fie, Firma, and Daca. They will play as long as they can last, they're aggressive and fairly dominant. They run and jump a lot, and will sacrifice art and care for speed and enjoyment. The other three, Reid, Moto, and Optimus Prime seem to have more old souls. They watch and wait and think. They all seem a little more content to be on their own to explore things, too.

What I love about Yishai's observations is how he phrases stuff: "Optimus just seems to understand me." :) Four-week old puppies get it.

This reminds me of when Dusty died. Dusty was probably my heart dog - more than Fury. When he died, I looked in Fury's eyes to see if there was a tiny bit of his soul there (she was born a day after he died). Not really. Strangely, for some reason, while she doesn't remind me remotely of Dusty, she reminds me of my mom. It's creepy. And yes, Mom's still around.

Anyway, there was a dog that I looked into his eyes and saw a bit of him - my friend Mary Jean's Rascal. There was something akin in his soul. Unfortunately he has recently passed. I think I will always look into the eyes of other dogs to look for him. I just thought I'd mention that I still feel the impact of the world's loss of Rascal. I hope that my puppies inspire that in others, too.

Another new phenomenon is that Fury is starting to play with the puppies. They were playing, as Patrick MacRoberts calls it, "Bite the head" with one another, but now she gets in on the action. It is darling. She used to be a very social dog with other mutts in settings like the dog park. Over time, however, too many dogs have violated her trust so she rarely engages other dogs in play. It's cool to see her come back with that.

She also keeps trying to get them to play tug of war. Not yet. :)